A Pool of One's Own

The Jones' were the most envied family in my neighborhood growing up.

They had a pool.

During the Summer months, hundreds of messages were left on their answering machine daily, mostly from Myself and my bosom buddy Emily, begging to let us come swim.

This weekend i experienced a reminiscence of that past passion for diving boards and chlorine as I swam in the pool I have been dreaming of my entire life....

My parent's built a pool in their backyard.

I'm sure you all agree that having a pool of one's own is one of the greatest gifts in life....no stranger's scabby bandaids, no sudden warm spots, no struggle in swimsuit confidence, no foreign floating objects, and no belly flop embarrasment.

Although i now feel sure pain that I wasn't born at the end of 7 children so I could experience firsthand the life of the Jones', I can now fly 800 miles and find a bliss that is rare in existence in our planet today.

p.s. my neck and back are strained (I thought I was 11 years old again and attempted to do my old tricks off the diving board.) Cruel reality has now settled.

p.p.s. I thought this pic of Uncle Daney was very characteristic of him.

Shoot it !!!

Every morning, Eric and I wake up to the sound of Emmett shrieking this: "BASKETBALL HOOP(sounds more like 'a-ket-ball') SHOOT IT!!!!!!" This is repeated over and over again until he finally is freed from his crib and let loose, heading straight for his ball and miniature plastic basketball hoop. The screaming finally finishes once he scores. Then it begins all over again when i try to set him in his chair for breakfast....and so on throughout the day. You would think leaving the house would help take his mind off "B-ball" as he frequently refers to it...nope. Any park, grocery store, neighborhood, and especially church he somehow spots the "A-KET-BALL HOOP" and wants to "SHOOT IT!" I've learned to keep a miniature basketball in the diaper bag to nourish his undeniable urge.

And so it was at Play Group Today. All other children, slides, swings, teeter toters were immediately forgotten once he saw his most beloved friend and loyal companion:

the A-KET-BALL HOOP.

P.S. Eric will not admit to anyone he's happy about Emmett's current obsession; however, I see the inevitable satisfaction and joy in Eric's eye everytime Emmett throws a tantrum before bedtime, due to the painful seperation of himself, the hoop, and the ball.